British Sea Power at Neumos
Image via Josh.
Neumos, you fixed the sound! Well, mostly anyway–I think that the sound at the Triple Door ruined me forever. (But seriously, didn’t Grand Archives sound unbelievable in that space? I want to fold them up and put them in my pocket.) On Tuesday during British Sea Power’s set I watched the guitar player play a guitar solo or two, and heard him do it as well! During Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground, it really sounded like there were approximately 30 people on that stage! All playing different instruments, and not just the bass! I could almost kiss you, I was so pleased.
I was also pleased with Kay Kay and the rest. They look like a gypsy circus but sound like a band, and I completely appreciate that. I want them to go on the road with some jugglers and dogs that jump through flaming hoops.
But oh, British Sea Power. I was so excited to see them and their hijinks. I know that not too long ago the keyboard/coronet player–my favorite member, ever since I watched him wander all around Key Arena and up into the stands banging on a bucket–jumped off of something and cracked open his face, and I can understand scaling back on the shenanigans a bit. But they’re a band that has built a reputation on wearing costumes and jumping off of things, and when they get rid of that it turns out that their new album just isn’t very good. (Although at the end there was a certain amount of climbing and getting hugs from the people in the balcony.)
Which isn’t to say that they don’t do what they do well, because they, well, do. They’re all solid musicians. It’s just that most of the songs are remarkably the same. Several times I thought they were playing a song that was certainly the climax of the show, except they went and played a different climax-sounding song right afterwards. It’s exhausting and boring, especially if you were Josh and you had to catch an airplane early the next morning.
But there are fans, and the fans are always into it, especially the small cluster of girls who stood front and center and danced as best they could through the whole set. I, on the other hand, spent most of the set wishing I hadn’t stopped drinking earlier in the evening. I’m glad that British Sea Power value their brains enough to quit cracking them open on the floors of clubs, but I wish that they could step up the songwriting to fill in the gaps.
I hate to break it to you but your "favorite" keyboard playing band member (that wandered around the Key) left the band in 06 to focus full time on his side project Brakes (brakesbrakesbrakes in the US). The guy that cracked open his face is a new member, Phil Sumner. So that’s the kind of credibility you bring to this review.
As far as needing to "step up their songwriting"? Their debut "The Decline Of.." is considered one of the best debuts of this decade and their latest "Do You Like Rock Music?" is one of the best reviewed albums of the year.
Maybe if you hadn’t started drinking early in the evening (and if you’re a typical Neumos patron, talked throughout) you would have been able to appreciate it better?
Wow. I don’t think that I would have predicted that requiring registration to comment would result in more personal attacks than anonymous comments! I love it when people wrongly assume that anyone who disagrees with their taste must be either drunk, not paying attention, or both.
I guess it’s nice that every band has its superfans. To an extent, I agree with both of you — British Sea Power is good AND their songs aren’t especially diverse. I do think that it’s a bit early in the year for crowning any album the "best reviewed".
But their songs are pretty diverse. Just off the top of my head, Carrion, Scottish Wildlife Experience, True Adventures, Waving Flags, Favours in the Beetroot Fields and No Lucifer sound nothing alike and they were all played that night.
Nowhere did I accuse anyone of being drunk. The reviewer stated that she "spent most of the set wishing I hadn’t stopped drinking earlier in the evening" so mine was an honest question, maybe if she wasn’t coming down a bit she would have been able to appreciate it more? FinestKiss certainly did.
Also, I didn’t say that it was the "best reviewed" but "one of the best reviewed", there’s an obvious difference! Anyway, the quote wasn’t mine but BBC radio’s (so sorry, no link) but here’s some of what has been said.
http://britishseapower.co.uk/index.php?id=85
Pretty good reviews and even if you go by just those quotes, it’s easily one of the best reviewed albums of the year. So far (better?).